Statistics on Racist and Neo-nazi crimes in February, 2008

In February, 2008, in Russia, there were no less then 44 people attacked, including 12 fatalities. From the beginning of the year, 26 people were murdered and 72 more were injured as a result of hate violence.

People from the Central Asia remain the most vulnerable group (17 people murdered, 28 injured), and Moscow remains the major center of racist violence (18 people murdered and 37 injured).

In 2008 there have been only one guilty verdict for racist attacks. In Altai region, the jury adjudged three people guilty of two murders committed in 2006. Two of them were convicted of murders committed with a hate motive and one of them was additionally convicted of robbery.

However, propaganda of xenophobia has been actively prosecuted. In 2008 there have been no less then 8 guilty verdicts against 8 people. The most high profile of them were verdicts against Maksim Martzinkevich (alias Tesak) and Boris Mironov, one of the national-patriotic movement veterans, who was adjudged guilty of incitement of ethnic hatred (article 282 of the Criminal Code), but was released from penalty because the statute of limitation has expired.